Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Takes $1.44 Million Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 21,534 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,439,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 30,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,877 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 61,950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,140,000 after buying an additional 16,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth $372,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.8 %

LW opened at $59.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.73. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $110.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.55 and a 200 day moving average of $69.81.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 34.33% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LW. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Profile

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc produces, distributes, and markets frozen potato products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Global, Foodservice, Retail, and Other. It offers frozen potatoes, commercial ingredients, and appetizers under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as under various customer labels.